Dawn and Dusk of the Dark
by Solace Utara
Summary: There seemed to be no reason for Kaayla to live, until one day fate acknowledged her. Two extraordinary beings came with hope, and she knew what she must do. The will of the Force led her on a journey that will find her a new beginning… and a destiny.
1. Prologue

I've done this story a while ago and decided to upload it...

Disclaimer: Star Wars belong to George Lucas, not me...

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**Prologue**  
From the private journals of Kaayla (Prisoner 985123)

Every story has a beginning. You know, the good old times.

The good old times... ah. Most stories have those beginnings. Few don't. What's my beginning? I don't know, but it definitely doesn't fall into the "good old times" category.

I don't even know my beginning. Or if I even have one. But as I said before, all stories do. So I guess my beginning is that I'm born. Yeah. That's pretty much it.

I have been here in the Imperial Prison for as long as I can remember. I can't imagine how to live other lives apart from being a prisoner, mostly because I don't know them. So why am I here? What's my crime? Being an offspring of a prisoner. Or two. Their crime? Walking on the street during a security sweep and not running off fast enough. Or so that's how I heard it from my mom before she was executed. That was probably because she was too old and weak to work for them, so they just shot her like a bantha just to save expenses.

I remembered never feeling so alone.

Sure, I was mostly alone working for the Empire in prison, but knowing that my mom who was there was always a comforting fact for me. The comforting presence was gone when she was dead. She was the only person I knew that ever truly loved me.

On rare occasions when we get to spend time together, she told me of her life before she went to prison pregnant. She told me about the history- how the Jedi fell and how the Empire rose. She told me how my father fought bravely alongside Anakin Skywalker (better known as The Hero with No Fear) and fell. The Empire killed my father. The father I never knew.

"They killed him," she had said.

_They killed him. _That word echoed in my head.

On our last talk together, she told me that there was still hope, and the Jedi could not be completely wiped out. She said that I should do something in honor of my father's memory and worked against the empire.

"Remember all I told you," she had said, "for they will serve you well in the future."

So far, my knowledge had not come in use, for I was stuck here in prison. My destiny seemed like only one long road fading away to the darkness. That one road was the prison. It never occurred to me that I could break out- at least, not until my mom mentioned it. After all the security around here, it seemed that the Empire had wanted us prisoners here desperately for a reason.

These were dark times. Fear lay like a blanket of fog over the whole galaxy. I was just another person trying to see through the fog of darkness. I was hoping for someone to shine a light. But I was losing hope since my mother's death. Fast. It was like night overcame day and stayed like that. Forever.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
A piercing scream echoed through the eerie silence. Startled, I opened my eyes and looked out of my small cell wildly. People all around me just threw dirty looks to the right of me. Oh. It turned out to be just another prisoner nearby having a nightmare. This horrible place was never short of it.

I sighed. This was one of the few times I finally got to sleep. Not a restful sleep, because those ones were nearly impossible in this hell. The most important thing to remember in this dreaded prison was to get food and sleep every chance you get. You never know when you would get another chance. So what could I do? I just rolled over and tried to get back to the best part of my life: sleep.

Following the scream, the cell doors abruptly sprang open, which was a signal for us prisoners of get going to breakfast. Time to start another day. So much for trying to get some sleep again.

I got up stiffly and walked out of my door to join the streaming line of prisoners. Guards flanked us. The person behind me stumbled, and the guards hit him hard. Ouch. He was sent sprawling across the floor and sent of another scream. This one was not from a nightmare, but from sheer terror. I saw what was coming next and closed my eyes.

I was right. The air suddenly smelled thick of ozone after a sound of bullet. The other prisoners exchanged looks that said, _too bad. _

On the bright side, at least we won't be getting anymore screams from him. On the down side, he just saved the empire some credits because he could barely do work anyway.

"Move along," The guards commanded in a professional way. I left the body behind as well as a sick feeling in my stomach.

I had my breakfast of some gooey-thingy, whatever it is. But I was so hungry I didn't care. As tasteless and disgusting as it was, I needed it to live. But it failed to make me full. It only made me hungrier. It's that feeling that your food just makes you want more.

The buzzing bell sounded and we all got up and filed out of the room. It was time to go to our posts. My job was scrubbing the floor at the place where new prisoners came in. Yucky, right? Well, it was better than working in a dangerous platform. You either die because you're too weak to work or something kills you. I tell you, nobody comes back from there. It's the place where we prisoners dreaded the most. But thankfully I'm not going to go there soon, as I've been told. Perhaps it has something to do with being a thin little fourteen year old girl. Anyway, I'm glad my situation wasn't worse, so I'm ok with scrubbing the dirty floor.

I joined Eroda and Ward, who were fellow prisoners that were also assigned to clean the landing platforms. We barely had time to talk to each other, because the guards watch us when we clean all the time. Still, there was a bond between us for working together for our whole short lives. My mom was supposed to work here too, but as you know, she was... gone.

Eroda, Ward, and I were marched to the landing platform by two guards as usual. They watched us carefully as we each picked up a repulsorbroom and started the long work. Their eyes followed us for the rest of the day. Creepy.

Every day there would be a ship coming to bring more prisoners and supplies in. Today was no different. Exhausted, I put away my hydromop and skipped away to allow the people to go out. I noticed something strange today though. Usually there were only about a hundred prisoners all over the galaxy that was landing on this particular platform. Now, there was a sea of people coming out. Yeah, no kidding. There must be a revolt going on in Courasant or something. Even the guards have a hard time pushing them around.

There's something else that caught my eye. As some prisoners rush to take the supplies and stack them away, there was a young prisoner who took too much and can't handle it. His eyes went wide as it stumbled out of his grip. Before they hit the floor, though, another young torgruta amidst the crowd gave the barest flick of her finger. It softly dropped. Nobody saw this except me. And you'd think the guards were observant. Well, they already had their hands full in trying to control the confusion. Too bad for them. Just great for the young man.

He didn't know what had happened to make the supplies hover for a nanosecond before gently hitting the ground, which probably saved his life. Neither did I. But I'm pretty sure the togruta did that. My mouth dropped open. She must have sensed it somehow with her montrals, because she whirled around and gave me a smile and a finger on her lips. I regained my senses and quickly closed my mouth and nodded, just as she put on her tired face and got herded away.

I don't know who she was, but she was no ordinary togruta. I had a strong suspicion she was a Jedi. My mother said that they can do some voodoo magic and move things around by calling on something known as the Force. I was going to find out about all this. Oh yes I would.

Things were about to get interesting.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I stumbled into my cell. It has been a long day. Though the nights were usually the worst, today I looked forward to sitting still for many hours, just simply resting down on hard cell floor. I had seen nothing better in my life, but I knew there was better stuff than this. Places where there were no rats, clean toilets, no screams, and bright light. That's paradise.

I'm one of the lucky ones here because I sleep alone in this tiny cell. Usually there's two or three in one, depending on where you were assigned to. That makes things worse. There would be a competition for space, toilet, and other things we prisoners were desperate to get. Everyone would fight with little or no fear for their life just simply to steal food from another person at breakfast in the cafeteria. Luckily, I wasn't assigned to the worst group, but I still got my food stolen often. Doesn't matter. At least, not that much. I never needed much of the chunk that looks like bantha poop. (I never saw a bantha, so don't expect me to tell you about it. My mom told me.)

My cell door creaked open, drawing me away from my thoughts. I looked at my door just as a figure got shoved in. Instead of landing face first on the floor, it seemed to... glide to a stop. I swear. My mouth dropped open for the second time today. It's not often you get to see a miracle around here.

The figure seemed to collect his/her thoughts while her eyes adjust to the darkness. I studied the form. It was a she. Her montrals were elegantly curved, though not fully grown yet. Her lekku almost fell to her waist. Her body told me that she was built for action. In other words, she was a perfect rebel.

Without turning to meet me, she finally spoke, "So you work in the hangar I came in. Great job they gave you."

Yep. It was the togruta that shushed me back then. She has a sense of humor too.

"Y-yes," I stammered. It was awkward. Swell. How did she know it was me? She didn't even turn around. And it took me a long time to adjust my eyes to the dark. It took her less than a minute.

As if picking up my thoughts, she gave a half-smile but chose not to answer my thoughts. Instead she commented sarcastically, "Nice place. The best you'd find on Raxus Prime. I'd rather go out in the junk."

I felt my mouth go dry. "Raxus Prime?" I squeaked. This junk world was worse than hell. My odds of escaping successfully had gone down from 0.1 to -1. Or whatever. I'm never good at math.

The togruta gave me an odd look. "How long have you've been here? You know they want us to see what planet we're on. As if they can crush out our hopes to escape," she added, scoffing. Maybe she still believed that she could escape.

"I've been here my whole life."

"Oh great. Cozy. Maybe you can show me the wonders of the prison."

I chose to ignore that comment and moved to give her a place to sit. I know what was coming next though. And I was right.

"Uh, no thanks," she said dubiously after looking at the slimy floor and rats.

"You can't stand all night and have energy to work tomorrow."

"Right. Perhaps you can explain to me about how this prison works."

"After you tell your story."

She took a deep breath and started. "All right. I sided with the Republic during the Clone Wars. When it became an Empire, I knew things were going bad. I joined the resistance as I dodged storm troopers. Wasn't pretty. I saw my friends die. I made me even more determined to help the rebels. Then one day they captured innocent bystanders and tortured them to tell the location of our resistance. Most died after refusing to tell them, but they got the information somehow all right. We heard and most of us escaped in time. I stayed back to help the last ones. So did some others. I knew it was near impossible to get away then, and I was right. About only fifty of us were captured, but there were other bases of our resistance that were not so fortunate. So that's why you see so much people coming out of ships when you were... cleaning."

"Wow" was all I could say. Brave person, no? She volunteered to be the last person to try to escape through the gates of hell. After she failed, she still had her sense of humor... and hope.

_"Hope. It's a fragile thing of great beauty. It's always there, but it is invisible and useless until you believe in it." _My mom always say that. I missed her so much.

The togruta-she never told me her name- seemed to sense my thoughts again. Wizard. She softened up and said, "You're having a rough day."

That's a big understatement. But for some reason I knew I could trust her. I poured out everything in my life to her.

"My name is Kaayla. Officially, I'm prisoner 985123-"

"Good numbers. 123, huh? Mines is 1947625. Nothin' special. Too bad."

"-and my mom was imprisoned for no reason. She was pregnant. She told me that my dad died as a hero to the rebels. I was raised up in the freakin' place they call a prison. That doesn't describe it. It should be called hell. Then she got weak and was executed. And..."

I blabbered on and on about my life, and the togruta (still don't know her name) listened with interest. She was a good audience, never interrupting once again. She winced, softened, and gasped in the right places.

"...then, just before you came in, I thought I was lucky to have a whole small cell to myself. Then you showed up. So much for luck. Well, I suppose I should still consider myself lucky for having you and not someone who would tear my head apart. By the way, you still haven't told me your name."

I ended with a big breath. I was really tired by now. Still, I felt a lot of weight lifted off my shoulders after finally getting to share my stories. It's probably the only thing I can share willingly. Suddenly, having a cell mate like her doesn't seem that bad after all.

The togruta hesitated. "Kalifa," she told me.

"Kalifa," I repeated, "That's an odd name for a togruta."

She merely shrugged.

"Tomorrow's a long day. We should rest-"

"If we can in a place like this. I told you about the nightmare screams."

"-before it gets too late. But first, I need to use the bathroom, assuming there's one."

I pointed to a corner. For a moment I thought Kalifa would gag, but she regained herself and went. Impressive.

Not long after, I heard her steady breathing. I couldn't sleep. My mind was jumping in too many directions. It was a hyper drive.

There was a piercing screech. Another scream. I glanced at Kalifa, but she was still sleeping. Maybe, as a soldier in the late Republic, she was used to sleeping in many places. Maybe she wasn't a Jedi after all. She didn't mention it, and it was a thing to be proud of. The boxes might hace new repulosorlift technology I wasn't aware of. Kalifa might not have anything to do with it, and she just shushed me so I won't get in trouble. And the glide... maybe it was just her military training. She could've sensed me with those montrals of hers. She must've sensed my thoughts through my face expressions. Yeah. It all fits.

_Stop_, I told myself. _You need sleep_. Kalifa was right. Tomorrow would be another long day.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_"A piercing scream echoed through the eerie silence. Startled, I opened my eyes and looked out of my small cell wildly. People all around me just threw dirty looks to the right of me. Oh. It turned out to be just another prisoner nearby having a nightmare. This horrible place was never short of it."_

That was yesterday. My first day I recorded, the day some weird stuff started happening. I guess I shouldn't get ahead of myself and write down things in order, so here I go.

This day started the same way yesterday did. Except for a few changes. So I'm writing it all down again with the changes here.

A piercing scream echoed through the eerie silence. Startled, I opened my eyes and looked out of my small cell wildly. People all around me just threw dirty looks to the STRAIGHT AT me. Oh. It turned out to be just another prisoner nearby having a nightmare. This horrible place was never short of it. AND THAT PRISONER IS ME.

Shoot. I just made some enemies.

I was dreaming about this thing- but it didn't make any sense. Kalifa and I were running through a narrow corridor and there were Imperial guards behind us. I remembered my heart thumping wildly and a blaster bolt hitting the wall just where I was a second ago.

"After this run, there's someone I'd like you to meet. She-," I heard Kalifa saying calmly through the chase. I couldn't remember what happened next. But I guess it didn't really matter because the next moment or so another blaster fire came, but this one grazed Kalifa in the shoulder. I screamed. That was the scream everyone heard. Oops.

I shook myself back to reality and glanced at Kalifa again. She slept through the countless screams around us all night, but was shaken awake by mines. Instead of throwing me a dirty look, though, she grinned and said, "Good morning. For a moment I thought that was the breakfast bell."

I ignored the curious glances around me. "Hi. You wouldn't find it a good morning soon. I'm not even sure this is morning. I think it's still last night. Let's get sleep while we can," I added, giving her a guilty look.

By the expression on her face, it seemed that, as usual, she knew what I was thinking about. But she nodded and went back to sleep anyway. I can't. I stared at the durasteel ceiling for the rest of the night, replaying the dream in my head.

I longed for morning to come so I get my mind off the dream by doing some hard labor. For the first time in my life, I actually looked forward to it. Besides, the nights were always the worst. And the longest, since there's no way for a good sleep to come.

"Kaayla," a hoarse whisper called

I heard my name being called, but I thought it was a voice in my head. After several times, though, I got up to see who it was. It was Eroda. Remember her? She works with Ward and me at the platform. She's just the next cell from me.

"What?" I hissed back.

"Wassup with the togruta?"

"Kalifa. Her name is Kalifa."

"Whatever. Is she gonna join us working at the platform? We could use some help since your mom's... death." Her voice cracked at the end of the sentence, as mines surely would. She loves her as much as Ward and I do.

"I'm not sure. I guess so. And she's built for action, too. Have you've seen her? She told me she was fighting with the Republic at the Clone Wars, if you paid attention to my mom when she gave us some history. She-"

I couldn't continue. There was a lump in my throat. My mom's death was still painful. It, if possible, was intensified with the knowledge that I was helpless with it.

I tamped down my memories as it rose up. It wouldn't do me any good to grieve. My mom wouldn't want me to anyway. I swallowed the lump in my throat, but it only made my neck sore because I had no water. I saw Eroda doing the same.

Ward joined the conversation and lightened things up a little. "If that Togruta's a high military officer, maybe we have a chance to break out with her."

"She is. But we're on Raxus Prime."

"Oh."

Of all the words in his vocabulary, I don't think I'll rate this "oh" as very optimistic.

"But we still have hope," he said, breaking the silence.

I tamped down the memory of my mother's quote as said, "Yeah. Sure. We can sneak out of these bars, avoid the surveillance devices, climb over the electric charged wall, and somehow manage to escape the trash planet."

"Exactly," Eroda said with a strained smile, "Or Kalifa's forces can come crashing in and break us out."

"Oh," Ward and I said. I wouldn't rate that as very high either. But still, there's a chance, right?

We went through the conversation of Kalifa and breaking out, which to me was very odd since I never gave a thought about escaping. My life is always the struggle to survive in this prison- which I always thought would be the long road I will walk on forever. As I said before, it disappears into the darkness. I can't see after that.

_"Walk on the road, but beware. Someday it might end. No, it will end. But at the end of the path, there is another path. Who knows where it might lead to. Expect the unexpected. Who knows what the future may hold."_

As much as memories like these are painful, yet comforting. It's incomprehensible. I'll try my best to put it simply: I miss my mom so much, but the memories come in handy sometimes.

"Let's stop talking, okay? Tomorrow's another long day," I heard Eroda say.

A few minutes later, I lay on the cold floor, waiting desperately for morning to come. I counted the seconds off in my head, but I don't have a clock. As agonizingly slow as this was, come it did.

Everyone stood up, Kalifa looking as fresh as ever. And we headed out for the day.


End file.
